


The Best I Can

by LexieCarver



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, John's A+ Parenting, Protective Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:04:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9599186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LexieCarver/pseuds/LexieCarver
Summary: Pairing: GeneralCharacter: Dean, Sam and John WinchesterShout out to my awesome beta: @raspberrymama  Mwah!Word Count: 1,468A/N: This was written for  @babypieandwhiskey Cam’s Darndest Things Writing Challenge with the prompt, “Cat food is NOT for human consumption.” and for @bkwrm523’s writing challenge with the prompt, “It’s a CAT! This isn’t funny!” Black comedy? John being a bad parent. The Winchesters are quite young.





	

[Also posted on Tumblr-](http://roxy-davenport.tumblr.com/post/156873280476/the-best-i-can)

 

“It’s a CAT! This isn’t funny!”

 

“It’s a little funny, Dean. A cat scared my big, brave, older brother.”

 

“Cut it out, Sammy.”

 

“It’s Sam.”

 

“Not when I’m mad at you.”

 

Sam pouted for a few moments. “Thanks Dean.”

 

“For what?”

 

“For always looking out for me.”

 

“Thanking me after teasing me, aye? What do you want?”

 

“Nothing. Honest. Just thank you.”

 

“Of course. It’s my job, Sam.”

 

“I’m serious.”

 

“So am I.”

 

“Dad hasn’t been home in three weeks. I guess he miscalculated or something. I mean, we ran out of food how many days ago?” Sam questioned.

 

“It must have been a rough hunt or something? I provided for us the best I could.”

 

“As if he’d ever tell us what was so important. You do the best you can, Dean. My anger is on Dad for ditching us here.”

 

“Cut Dad some slack, Sam. Come on. After everything? After mom and what just happened two hunts ago?”

 

Both boys fell silent again, not quite sure what to do. Sam raised his eyes to look at his brother a huge smile on his face. “Thank god you’re good at pool. You’ve got to teach me all your tricks.”

 

Dean smirked, “Never lost a game actually. The Winchester brothers, hunter and pool aficionados.” Sam laughed.

 

Dean walked around the small motel room to the kitchen getting two cans from the cupboards. In moments, the two boys were sitting in front of their respective cans of cat food. Dean put the spoon to his mouth ready to eat when he heard an insistent meowing. Looking down at the cat he froze mid-bite. Putting down the spoon he gave Sam bitchface.

 

“What is the cat still doing here?”

 

“Don’t look at me. I didn’t let it in, Dean.”

 

“You forgot to lock the motel room three times now.”

 

“Yeah, but nothing happened,” Sam said sheepishly.

 

“With the lives Dad and I lead, you can’t do that, Sammy. For all we know, the cat could be possessed.”

 

“What ghost would possess a cat, Dean?”

 

“Take the cat outside, Sam. Possessed or not, I’m sure as shit not sharing my food with a cat. We barely have enough for ourselves.”

 

“Maybe it’s trying to look for a home, Dean. Maybe its parents have left it all alone. Maybe it’s lost,” Sam pleaded.

 

“Jesus, Sammy, what is it with you and animals? You really wanna share with a cat?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Dean groaned loudly. “Sammy, no. You need the food. Don’t you dare give it to the cat.”

 

Sam slumped down in his chair at his brother’s tone. Dean sighed heavily and took some of his own food and gave it to the stray cat. He hated to see Sam upset and could never resist his brother’s puppy dog eyes. Nevertheless, he glared at Sam for yet again manipulating him so effectively. Sam in turn beamed at Dean. As Dean started eating, Sam gave him some of his food.

 

“Sammy, no. You’re younger, you need the food.”

 

“And you’re my big brother. You gotta protect me remember? You take it.”

 

Dean sighed and acquiesced to Sam giving him a tiny bit more. The boys smiled at each other happily - not because the food was that great, but because they were alive and well and for a hunter, that’s cause for celebration.

 

Moments later, both boys heard a key in the lock. They dropped their food and turned their attention to the door. John frowned at the scene before him. He heard mewing and his eyes followed the sound seeing a cat eating food under the makeshift table.

 

Upon approaching the boys, he saw them eating something from a can. John walked further into the room standing behind Sam. John reached over and picked up the can reading it.

 

“Cat food is NOT for human consumption!” he bellowed. John was furious. He grabbed the other can and threw them both in the garbage. “My boys WILL NOT eat cat food!”

 

Dean was really fed up of his outrage. His dad didn’t get to be angry at the scene he walked into.

 

“You were away for three weeks. Three whole weeks! Sammy is supposed to go to school. You owe them money for this semester. And, you left us with only enough for two weeks. What was I supposed to do, Dad? I hustled for money to be able to buy the cat food by playing pool. It’s not great, but at least it’s something to eat until you came back. My one and only job is to look after Sammy, as you’ve drilled in my head since Sam was born. And that’s exactly what I did here.”

 

“You’re saying I didn’t leave you enough?”

 

”You didn’t because you were expecting the job to be only two weeks long.”

 

“We’re coming back to this, Dean, because this is not okay.”

 

“I agree.” Dean said nostrils flaring. He was itching for a fight. Let his father try and explain his way out of this one. John eyed Dean carefully not backing down, hell, he was angry as well. He decided to bench the issue for later and focused on Sam’s school. Had he really messed the deadline? Jesus fucking christ, well he wasn’t getting any father of the year awards any time soon.

 

“What is this about Sam’s school?”

 

Dean gives his father a letter that came to the motel. How the school knew they lived in a motel, Dean had no idea. Had his father really given this as their address? John looked at the paper sighing heavily. He looked over at Sammy who looked scared. Sam never liked them fighting, especially over him.

 

Maybe he hadn’t left enough money, John wasn’t entirely sure himself. He didn’t think he would be gone this long. He just grabbed whatever was in his wallet and rushed off to help Bobby, who really needed the help. He should have made sure and counted it before he left.

 

John turned back to Dean and saw his anger. As angry as John was at what happened and his part in it, he couldn’t be angry with Dean. Everything Dean said was true. The boy was just watching out for Sam. But John wasn’t the kind to exactly apologize.

 

“Come on boys, lets gets some real food.”

 

Dean and Sam got in the Impala quietly. Dean stared out the window not acknowledging his father. He was still angry with him for how he was treating Sam.

 

“It’s really hard to hunt and have a family. I’ll try and be better about leaving you money. Save the money you hustled just in case. An emergency fund. That was quick thinking son. I’m proud of you.”

 

Dean knew that that was as good of an apology as he was likely to get from his father. Dean also knew that as much as he would love to be angry, he couldn’t. He had taken care of Sammy and their father had come back. All was right with the world.

 

John was guilt-ridden and as hard as it was to apologize, he had to do it. He had to try and make it right.

 

“I know I have to do better by you boys. I-I. Your mother’s death hit me hard and I gotta find the sonofabitch that did this to her but that’s no excuse for how I’ve been treating you both and I’m sorry. I’m doing the best I can and I know that isn’t enough. Sammy do you like that school back there?”

 

“It’s okay,” Sam meekly replied.

 

“Just okay, son? Let’s find you a school you love and you can stay the rest of the semester there. How does that sound? We’ll have a bout of permanency. We’ll be a real family again. I’ll find a nice place, none of this motel crap and I’ll only take cases close by. How does that sound?

 

Both Dean and Sam were shocked that their father not only apologized but was offering to give them some normalcy. They nodded their heads so quickly they were afraid they’d get whiplash. John laughed happy at the idea himself. Seeing his two sons eating cat food was the kick in the butt he needed to do better. Who would have thought?

 

Their father got a booth in the back so they could have some privacy. John made a point of telling Sam he could have anything he wanted. Sam’s eyes bugged out. He was starving from eating crap the past few days.

 

Dean smiled seeing Sam happy again. He nodded to his father forgiving him yet again, for letting them down because if Dean was being honest, he didn’t expect John to take care of Sam. That was Dean’s job and he did it well.


End file.
